A Michelin Bib Gourmand chef who bakes pies to order, a dining room with London’s largest collection of gin, and – wait for it - Chicken and Banana pie – these are the restaurants with the most to offer this National Pie Week.
Pies are rarely associated with fine dining, but we found several reasons to include pies on your list of fancy feasting this week.
‘Masterchef of Great Britain’ Richard Arnold and his wife Jane run the Crown Country Inn, a Grade II listed building set in an area of outstanding beauty in Shropshire.
Cooking with fresh ingredients, and baking his pies to order, Richard hosts a pie night once a month, where diners can enjoy hearty homemade food in the historical atmosphere of the transformed B&B – first licensed in 2001. While the building itself boasts Inglenook fireplaces, flagstone floors and carvings in wooden beams, Richard boasts two AA Rosettes for food and a four-star AA inn classification.
Fun Fact: The inn is within easy travelling distance of many interesting towns including the small historic town of Much Wenlock (the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games).
Mariner's Fish Pie -
Photo by Bob Bob Ricard
Bob Bob Ricard, Soho, London
Although reservations are taken three months in advance for this exclusive, iconic Soho restaurant, it is worth the wait to be served ‘comfort food fit for a special occasion’. With the luxury chicken, mushroom and champagne pie on offer, as well as reinvented English and Russian classics such as chicken kiev and beef wellington, Bob Bob Ricard is famous for pouring more champagne than any other restaurant in the UK – thanks to tables equipped with a ‘press for champagne’ button.
Fun fact – Bob Bob Ricard is the only UK restaurant endorsed by Chateau d’Yquem as a purveyor of their world-famous wine by the glass.
Exclusively offering a ‘national pie week’ menu, The Puffing Billy is located in the beautiful village of Exton on the eastern side of the Exe estuary. Owners Adam Holland and Charlotte Bowden offer a seasonal menu of locally sourced produce inside a cozy, recently revamped stylish interior. This week, the featured pies from head chef Marc Slater include apple and cinnamon, a steak and Tribute en croute, West Country fish pie, and a lentil and roasted veg shepherd’s pie – all paired well with Cornish brewery St Austell ales.
Fun Fact: The Puffing Billy won a Taste of the West Gold award in 2016 in the ‘dining pub’ category – in Adam and Charlotte’s first year at the pub.
Curried mutton shoulder pie -
Photo by Calum Franklin, @chefcalum
Holborn British Brassierie, London
Executive head chef Calum Franklin delivers exciting flavours with his curried mutton shoulder, and pork and black pudding pies this week. He says his new craft pie menu is designed to ‘remind people of their childhood’ – evoking nostalgia with old-school pastries. Located in Midtown London, Holborn Dining Room is a vibrant, friendly setting for special and spontaneous occasions.
Fun fact: The copper-topped Gin Bar at Holborn Dining Room offers London’s largest collection of Gin, featuring over 400 Gins and 30 tonics.
It is no wonder that The Crown & Tuns is known locally as ‘the pie pub’: the regular menu features 19 pies! Made with freshly made pastry rolled out by hand every morning, the selection includes favourites such as minted lamb and potato pie, chicken mushroom and white wine pie, and sweet options including treacle and bakewell tarts. Truly a pastry paradise!
Fun Fact: Local attractions include Blenheim Palace (the birthplace of Winston Churchill) and Broadway Tower – the highest castle in the Cotswolds.
The Black Horse Restaurant -
Photo from www.foodanddrinkguides.co.uk
Black Horse Restaurant, Market Bosworth
Presenting itself in the middle of “Britain in Bloom” award winning village of Market Bosworth, The Black Horse restaurant tempts its guests with an elegant fine dining experience.
The pie and wine menu features the chicken coq au vin: tender chicken breast & thigh meat, braised in red wine, mushrooms, shallots, smoked bacon, garlic & herbs and topped with puff pastry.
Fun Fact: The Black Horse has an outside space for eating ‘al fresco’ style.
A gem in Dorset with its seven homemade, cheap dishes, the Pie House is also the only outlet on the south coast serving a modernized version of the traditional English dish, jellied eels. Eels are chopped and boiled in a spiced stock, allowed to form and set, forming a jelly. Visit and enjoy their ‘pie of the day’ and take away a serving of delicious New Forest ice cream.
Fun fact: Their takeaway meals are served in eco-friendly packaging made from plant & sugar fibres – 100% compostable.
House of the trembling madness, York
Back stock room at House of the trembling madness -
Photo from their Facebook page
The name suggests a quirky setting. Two steak pies (‘big wan’ and ‘wee wan – still quite big’) top the bill of pies on a wide selection of home cooked food. The store below the hall stocks more than 5,000 products and the pub itself provides a range of ciders and ales, including US Brooklyn lager and 8% Kwak Belgian beer. Currently nominated for ‘Best Pub in Yorkshire’, the medieval drinking hall is one of York’s most famous pubs.
Fun fact: The rear end of the medieval hall was built in 1180AD as part of the first Norman House to be built in York.
The Ship Inn, Irvine
The Ship Inn, Irvine -
photo from their Instagram page @theshipinnirvine
The oldest pub in Irvine, Scotland sources an array of fresh, locally produced foods. Celebrating 25 years as a family-run business, perhaps the most intriguing item on their menu (and the bravest pie you’ll eat this week) is their chicken and banana pie. They use their private dining room to celebrate a wide range of varied cuisines from France, Spain, Japan, Italy and Portugal.
Fun fact: As well as the international cuisines they offer, The Ship also serves their own take on traditional Scottish recipes.
By Chris Jones
Think we've missed anyone? Tweet us @CanteenTweets and let us know your favourite pie places! Is your restaurant serving up a special pie for National Pie Week? Upload your pie pics and recipes and we'll share them with our massive social media following!
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